Friday, July 21, 2017

1969 – Czar at Heidelberg – He Rules with an Iron Hand

Ed Witzberger

by Phil Musick

Pittsburgh,
Penn. (July 21, 1969) – In
fulfilling is role as a czar, Ed Witzberger sometimes looks as out of place as
Mamie Eisenhower at a pot party. He eats shrimp cocktail for lunch and wears
expensive white-on-white dress shirts, but the air of hustler eludes him and he
mostly looks like a new grandfather.

However, in a modest way, Ed Witzberger is a czar; a hard-bitten
absolute ruler of the district’s only major stock car track and the guy who
pulled area auto racing from the doldrums. His policy is simple but effective;
“I make all the decisions.”

Owner and operator of Heidelberg Speedway, the district’s
major league stock car operation, Witzberger is mentally tough enough to say,
“A driver here or there is expendable, but we have to protect the fans.”

In addition to Heidelberg,
a half-mile paved oval he calls, “one of the best tracks in the East”,
Witzberger also owns a budding goldmine, Pittsburgh Dragway, and the area’s
other asphalt track, the quarter-mile Greater Pittsburgh Speedway. “Actually,
me and the bank own Greater Pitt,” he remarked.

People involved in stock car racing describe the 54-year-old
in terms that range from glowing to unprintable and he admits that he’s “made
some enemies over time”. But even those who have denounced him hold Witzberger
in respect because he is solely responsible for the recent surge in racing’s
popularity in the district.

“He’s the dean in the tri-state,” says Verue Spencer,
publisher of Tri-State Auto Racing News and probably the most devoted fan in
the area. “He doesn’t just take. He also gives something back to the fans. Some
promoters just take the money out with both hands.”

Heidelberg Raceway

A successful coal operator in the 1940’s, Witzberger took
over Heidelberg
in 1954 and organized the drivers into the Pittsburgh Drivers Association. The
sport had flourished locally ever since.

“The original owners built the track in 1947 and they were
in financial trouble when I took over,” says Witzberger. In the last 15 years, Heidelberg has become a
nationally-respected race track, but Witzberger claims he “doesn’t know how it
came about”.

Hoot Martin, a 20-year veteran of area racing, has a good
idea. “I’ve cussed Ed more that anyone at times,” he said. “But he wants better
racing and he’s never been afraid to put out the money to get it.”

Four years ago, Witzberger shelled out $600,000 to pave Heidelberg, a move that
has drawn the top cars and drivers from the Tri-State area to the half-mile
track. It was a wise gamble. “We’re now profitable,” Witzberger explains. “But
I have to get 15 grand every time we open the gates or I’m in trouble.”

Safety and fan comfort are the bane of the stubby promoter’s
existence, and he’s had some bitter words with drivers whose thinking is, “it
could never happen to them”.

“We have to have safety for the race fans,” Witzberger
explains, “but the drivers often resist us.” The resistance has often gotten
violent and Witzberger says that his full-time safety director Walt Velte “has
gotten a fat lip or two and a few black eyes.”

Czars historically don’t take no for an answer and
Witzberger is not one to break with tradition. “I never change my mind once I
make a decision. Even if I’m wrong, it stands. It has to be that way.”

Heidelberg
in the future could be the scene of major races on the Grand National circuit,
although Witzberger and officials of NASCAR are friendly enemies.

“I like the NASCAR people,” Witzberger mentioned. “I could
bring a NASCAR race here – bring the big-name drivers here tomorrow if I wanted
to. But NASCAR wants drivers to pay a year’s membership fee and they also want
to raise pit fees. It wouldn’t be worth it to anyone for one race, and that’s
what it would be – one race.”

For the present, Witzberger will continue to play Napoleon
at Heidelberg,
where he plans on making more improvements.

“I’ve never take a dime out of the track. It all goes back
into the operation,” he remarked. “Of course, when I retire, I’ll have something.”

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Preserving the history of Midwest Auto Racing

So much racing history has been made through the years right here in the Midwest.

From the rich dirt ovals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska to the paved short tracks in Minnesota and Wisconsin, some of the best drivers ever to get behind the wheel of a race car competed right here in the heartland.

We all have our own story to share about our favorite driver who thrilled us everytime they rolled onto the track or that one particular race that still stands out as the greatest they ever saw.

We'll go back in history, 10, 20, 30, 40, even 50 years ago (even more) and reminisce about what has made racing in the Midwest so special for us.